America's Next Top Model (abbreviated ANTM and Top Model) is an Americanreality television series and interactive competition in which a number of aspiring models compete for the title of "America's Next Top Model" and a chance to begin their career in the modeling industry. Created by Tyra Banks, who also serves as an executive producer, and developed by Ken Mok and Kenya Barris,[3] the series premiered in May 2003, and was aired semiannually until 2012, then annually from 2013. The first six seasons (referred to as "cycles") were aired on UPN, before UPN merged with The WB to create The CW in 2006. The following sixteen cycles were aired on The CW until the series was first cancelled in October 2015.[4] The series has since been revived, with cycle 24 currently airing on VH1. The series was among the highest-rated programs on UPN, and was the highest-rated show on The CW from 2007 to 2010.[5] Advertisers paid $61,315 per 30-second slot during the 2011–12 television seasons, the highest of any series on The CW.[6]

The first 22 cycles of the series and cycle 24 were presented by Banks, with cycle 23 being presented by Rita Ora. The series also employs a panel of two or three additional judges, a creative director and a runway coach.

Cycles 1–16, 19 and 23–24 each consisted of a cast of between 10 and 15 female contestants with no previous participation on the series. Cycle 17's cast consisted entirely of previous participants, while cycle 18's had seven new contestants and seven former Britain's Next Top Model participants. Cycles 20–22 featured male contestants in the contest, including two male winners. As of April 2018[update], 24 people have won the competition. Winners typically receive a feature in a magazine and a contract with a modeling agency among other prizes.

The series is the originator of the international Top Model franchise. Over thirty versions of the series have been produced internationally.

Background

It was announced on January 24, 2006, that Top Model would be part of the new The CW network, a merge between UPN and The WB, when the seventh cycle started in September airing on Wednesdays. The series became the first series among regular programming to air on the network. Prior to the announcement of merging with The WB, UPN had committed to renewing the series through its ninth cycle on January 20, 2006,[7] for which casting was conducted throughout mid-2006. America's Next Top Model was the only show left on the network that was originally from UPN.

On July 21, 2006, the writers of America's Next Top Model went on strike while working on cycle 7, set to premiere on the new CW Network in September 2006. The writers sought representation through the Writers Guild of America, West, which would allow them regulated wages, access to portable health insurance, and pension benefits. These benefits would be similar to those given to writers on scripted shows. The strike was the focus of a large rally of Hollywood writers coinciding with the premiere of the new network on September 20, 2006.[8] The dispute was chronicled in a July 24 interview on the website Television Without Pity with Daniel J. Blau, a former recapper on the site who covered the series, and at the time was an America's Next Top Model show producer.[9] In November 2006, the writers on strike were taken off payroll.[10]

To celebrate its tenth cycle, America's Next Top Model aired a special installment called America's Next Top Model: Exposed in two parts on the CW on Wednesday, February 6 & 13, 2008. It reviewed the best catfights, mishaps and most memorable photo shoots, personalities, defining moments and contained other segments about the show since cycles 1 to 9, and featured a special opening fusing all three openings together. Camille McDonald (cycles 2 and 17), Toccara Jones (cycle 3), Eva Pigford (cycle 3 winner), Bre Scullark (cycles 5 and 17), Cassandra Whitehead (cycle 5), Joanie Dodds (cycle 6), Jael Strauss (cycle 8), Dionne Walters (cycle 8), Heather Kuzmich (cycle 9), and Bianca Golden (cycles 9 and 17) all returned to comment on events that happened in their or other cycles.

After announcing that the seventeenth season would be an All-Stars version, Banks said on The CW upfronts in May 2011, that there wouldn't be a "normal" season of the show anymore.[11] With the start of the eighteenth British Invasion cycle, the program converted to high definition, becoming the second-to-last primetime show on the five major English-language broadcast networks in the United States to make the switch, and the last to air in the regular season to do so.

The show is syndicated to NBCUniversal's cable division, with Oxygen as well as Style Network carrying the series, usually in marathon form throughout the daytime period on either network, and running through most of or an entire cycle. Bravo, MTV, and VH1 have also aired the series in the past. E! also currently airs reruns of ANTM.

Format

Each season of America's Next Top Model has from 9–16 episodes and starts with 10–16 contestants. Contestants are judged weekly on their overall appearance, participation in challenges, and best shot from that week's photo shoot; each episode, one contestant is eliminated, though in rare cases a double elimination or non-elimination was given by consensus of the judging panel. Makeovers are administered to contestants early in the season (usually after the first or second elimination in the finals) and a trip to an international destination is scheduled about two-thirds of the way through the season.

Judges and other staff members

The series employs a panel of judges who critique contestants' progress throughout the competition. Throughout its broadcast, the program has employed seventeen different judges. The original panel consisted of Banks (who also serves as its presenter), Janice Dickinson, Kimora Lee Simmons, and Beau Quillian. Quillian and Simmons were replaced by Nigel Barker and Eric Nicholson in cycle 2, before Nicholson was replaced by Nolé Marin in cycle 3. After cycle 4, Marin and Dickinson were replaced by J. Alexander and Twiggy in cycle 5. Paulina Porizkova joined the panel in cycle 10, in place of Twiggy. After cycle 12, Porizkova was fired by Banks and the panel was left with three judges (Banks, Alexander and Barker) in cycle 13. In cycle 14, Alexander left the panel and was replaced by André Leon Talley, but continued as the series' runway coach. In cycle 18, Kelly Cutrone replaced Talley. After cycle 18, Banks fired long-standing cast members Barker, Alexander and photo shoot director Jay Manuel. Barker was replaced by Rob Evans in cycle 19, and Manuel by Johnny Wujek. Alexander returned to the panel in cycle 21 in place of Evans.[12]
For cycle 23 the entire panel, including Banks, was replaced with Rita Ora, Ashley Graham, Drew Elliott and Law Roach[13] while Stacey McKenzie replaced Alexander as runway coach. For the 24th cycle, Banks returned as the main judge and presenter, replacing Ora, while the rest of the personnel remained unchanged.[14]

In the first eighteen cycles, an additional guest judge was welcomed to the panel each week. For the nineteenth and twentieth cycles, public voting was represented on the panel by Bryanboy. For the twenty-first cycle public voting was simply presented on screen doing call-out.

Though not a judge, Jay Manuel served as the creative director during contestants' photo shoots for the first to eighteenth cycles. During the nineteenth and twentieth cycles, Johnny Wujek replaced Manuel as the creative director of all the shoots, and Yu Tsai replaced Wujek in the twenty-first and twenty-second cycles. Elliot served as both judge and creative director in cycle 23 and 24.

^For season 9, all of the semi-finalists traveled by boat from San Juan to St. John's for casting week, before returning to the United States to start the competition.

Partnerships

America's Next Top Model was also connected with Banks' talk show, on which several contestants have appeared, most notably Natasha Galkina (cycle 8), who worked as a correspondent for the show.[15] The show's stage was also used for the cycle 5 reunion show.

The ANTM franchise released a clothing and accessories line based on the television show, which is sold at most Walmart stores. It ranges from cosmetic products to handbags.[17] Dolls were also released based on the show that were made by MGA Entertainment.

Criticism

Yahoo!'s Shine lifestyle website said the show contained cruelty and elements of humiliation, and that some critiques from the judges are "really cruel and cringe-inducing", claiming that the show "humiliates and degrades young women."[62] The site created the list "10 reasons why 'America's Next Top Model' is bad for women, humans", citing such things as giving the contestants and women viewers unrealistic visions of life as a model, and "always espousing empowerment and female strength and then forcing the contestants into embarrassing scenarios far outside the realm of real-life modeling". One such scenario highlighted was when cycle 12's final two contestants "were made to wear bikinis so skimpy that the producers had to blur out Allison Harvard's butt cheeks", and performed a "creepily sexual mud fight," after which contestant and winner Teyona Anderson was "commended for taking her weave in her hand and whipping it around on the runway like a sexy feather boa."[62]

Allure magazine criticized the show in its October 2006 issue, saying that ANTM "hasn't exactly produced any actual supermodels."[63]

Ken Mok and Banks noticed that most of cycle 8's girls were unusually heavy smokers. "Tyra and I understand the influence 'Top Model' has on a generation of young people, and we want to make sure we get the right message to our audience," Mok said, which then prompted the "green" theme of cycle 9.[64]

The winner of cycle 9, Saleisha Stowers, was discovered to have been in a Wendy's commercial, on a catwalk in the cycle 6 show and an episode of Tyra Banks Show prior to her participation. The rules of the competition stated that a contestant must not have appeared as a model in a national campaign during the five years prior to the production of the cycle in which they participate. The CW network said she had revealed her role in the Wendy's commercial, and "after reviewing the commercial, it was determined that her appearance did not amount to 'modeling' experience, and therefore did not exclude her from participating in the show."[65]

After filming cycle 10, the producers of America's Next Top Model were served with a lawsuit from Michael Marvisi, the owner of the loft used as the Top Model house. The lawsuit claimed that the contestants as well as the production crew caused an estimated $500,000 in damages to the loft. Marvisi claims the contestants engaged in food fights, made holes in the walls, caused water damage to the bathroom, damaged a $15,000 chandelier beyond repair, and caused $90,000 worth of damage to an electrical store. Also, the production crew was accused of damaging the flooring and making holes in the ceiling for lighting equipment.[66]

Broadcast history

International broadcasts

America's Next Top Model is currently shown on TV internationally in 170 countries and regions, namely: Australia, the United Kingdom, Japan, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and the whole of Southeast Asia (except Timor-Leste). The following table shows countries and regions that have aired this show:[67]

Spin-off

In October 2008, The CW announced that it had ordered a spin-off pilot of America's Next Top Model, titled Operation Fabulous. The proposed show would have starred ANTM creative director Jay Manuel and runway coach Mrs. J. Alexander as they travel the country to provide makeovers to everyday women. Tyra Banks and Ken Mok would have served as executive producers for the new show. However, The CW ultimately declined to pick up the show.[69]

Distribution

Until 2012, only cycle 1 had been released domestically on DVD. This is because the home video license was formerly held by UPN, and was distributed for them by Paramount Home Entertainment. Since the series is now independently produced, the video rights to the remaining seasons have, until recently, been open for acquisition (and therefore, the remaining seasons had yet to be issued on DVD or Blu-ray). However, on May 30, it was announced on the CW that cycles 2 and 3 were available to pre-order on DVD via new licensee CBS Home Entertainment. They are now available for purchase on Amazon.com. Additionally, cycles 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 were also made into DVDs and sold on the website.[70]

Sponsors

For cycle 1, Revlon sponsored this show with the products and prizes. For cycle 2, Sephora replaced Revlon as the commercial sponsor. Through cycles 3-18, CoverGirl replaced Sephora as the continuation on products and prizes. For cycle 19, shoe retailer Nine West and Smashbox sponsored with campaigns, but the cosmetics sponsorship has ended. For cycle 20, Guess sponsored with a US$100,000 ad campaign for the winner.

Naima Mora (winner of cycle 4), Kim Stolz (cycle 5), and Furonda Brasfield (cycle 6) were given guest-starring roles on episodes of Veronica Mars. Kim and Furonda's roles were cameos in the same series.

For cycle 8, the acting-themed episode had Tia Mowry of CW's The Game give the girls a crash course in acting, although the "crossover" was limited to Mowry's appearance, as the challenge winner was not given a guest role as a prize. Instead, Renee DeWitt, who won the challenge, got a surprise visit from her husband and son which she shared with Dionne Walters, whose family also showed up for a surprise visit.